Page 54 of Third Time’s a Charm

“Or he’s avoiding me,” I conclude for him.

“Mmhmm.”

“So we’re in the box with Schrödinger’s cat.”

We’re both silent for a couple of heartbeats, enough in sync to know what the other is thinking.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming.” I berate myself. Somewhere along the way, I went from being prepared for whatever decision Tate made, to being totally invested in keeping the business afloat. I was so convinced by the viability of Louise’s plan that it didn’t occur to me I might need a backup plan.

“Is it time to give serious thought to a Plan B?” Edward suggests in a mirror of my own thoughts.

“Past time.”

The problem is, what could a Plan B even look like?

I really can’t sit still now. I grab my keycard, stuff my phone in my pocket and head for the lounge.

Small marble-top tables dot the lush carpet at one end of the massive room, with larger raw-edge wooden tables at the other end. I order a double scotch on my way past the bar and choose a table at the intersection of the towering floor-to-ceiling windows.

Straight ahead is more of the sensational panorama that assails you at every turn. To my left is a view of several illuminated hot tubs, bubbling and steaming invitingly. I’m about to knock back my drink and go back to my room for my swim trunks when Louise, wrapped in a fluffy white robe, appears. She stops at a sun lounger, drops her robe and tiptoes to the steps, lowering herself gently into the frothy water.

I watch as the tension in her limbs dissolves with every step until she sinks below the surface, her red-gold hair fanning out across the bright blue of the pool. She floats, she sinks, she makes a few lazy strokes.

And I think about what I’ve done. Last night, for the first time in a long, long time, I acted on instinct. I did what felt right. For me. And today, because of what feels more and more like misplaced loyalty, and a damn NDA, I blew that up.

I don’t want to stay away from her. I don’t want to deny us both. Maybe I can’t tell her what’s going on just yet. But somehow, some way, I’m going to make sure she’s okay. And for now, that’s going to have to be good enough.

I finish my drink in one long gulp, straighten my shoulders and go and do what I should have done from the start.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Louise

Along soak in the natural hot spring pool was just what I needed.

The sky is an endless arc of stars above the chilly air. I’m a little pruny by the time I climb out of the soothing water and bundle myself in the hotel robe. With a shiver, I slide my feet into the cotton slippers and squeeze the water out of my hair. It’s too cold to lie back on the sunlounger and admire the stars, so I make my way back to my room, past the brightly lit restaurant, full of laughing corporate types here on a retreat.

I’m annoyed at myself. I shouldn’t have been so hurt by Jasper pulling back the way he did. It’s the sensible thing to do. He’s my boss. Regardless of what feelings I might be having, we both have professional reputations to protect. He needs to be above reproach, and I need to be taken seriously. It’s that simple.

In another life, maybe we could have become something. But we’re not living another life, so it’s pointless to think that way.

Tomorrow morning I’m going to join him at breakfast, and we’ll put the past couple of days behind us, never to be mentioned again. We’ll move on. And I’ll prove to him, if I haven’t already, that my programme is worth the time and effort required to get it running.

I’ll keep telling myself that till I believe it.

I fish around in the pocket of my robe as I approach the door of my room, stopping dead when I round the courtyard wall.

Sitting on my doorstep, forearms resting on his knees, is Jasper.

“Ah, hi.” Smooth, Louise. Very smooth.

Jasper leaps to his feet and it’s not helpful that I notice how agile he is.

“I saw you swimming. The pool looks … relaxing.”

Glad to note Jasper is as articulate as me.

“It is.” I jam my hands into the robe pockets so he doesn’t see them shaking. Or to stop me reaching out for him. Maybe both.